Long Story Short : Dark Sines, Ivan The Tolerable, Concrete Island, Myrna

Hello all. It’s been a minute since I’ve posted one of these ‘Long Story Short’ posts where I cover an album in a paragraph or two. Gotta be honest, there’s just so much coming my way it’s hard to keep up. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I’d say that’s a good thing […]

Complex Distractions Presents Top 30 Albums Of 2021 : 30-21

I’ve done the calculations, I’ve handwritten lists, I’ve got ink on my hands, and I’ve done the proper contemplating over coffees and beers. It felt as if there weren’t as many “big names” dropping LPs in 2021. Or maybe I just don’t really care about “big names” anymore. I like what I like, and it […]

The Heartwood Institute & Hawksmoor : Concrete Island

The new collaborative LP Concrete Island by The Heartwood Institute and Hawksmoor is named and inspired by the 1974 novel by J.G. Ballard. Ballard set the standard when it came to the dystopian novel, having written High-Rise, Crash, The Drowned World, The Atrocity Exhibition and The Unlimited Dream Company to name but a few. His […]

The Heartwood Institute : Witchcraft Murders

The Heartwood Institute is quite the Gothic and haunted musical world. I’m new to Jonathan Sharp’s musical project, but I’m quickly becoming obsessed. It’s a mix of vintage and modern sounds, like a childhood dream replayed with modern equipment. The fidelity is sharp, but the intention is still opaque and drifting towards morose. Listening to […]

The Heartwood Institute Returns With ‘Witchcraft Murders’; Listen To “Who Put Bella Down The Wych Elm?”

There were a series of brutal murders that took place in the English countryside back in the early 1940s. A man impaled on his own pitchfork, the remains of a woman found stuffed inside a tree, and clues that led to the possibility these murders were witchcraft-related. What became known as The Lower Quinton & […]